Weight lifting bar

ABSTRACT

A weight lifting bar, such as a pull-up bar is provided. The pull-up bar may be wall-mounted or utilized with a power rack. The bar includes a cylindrical bar, which is typically made of steel. The bar further includes a sand-blasted finish applied to the cylindrical bar. The sand-blasted finish creates a layer over at least a portion of the cylindrical bar.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/087,968, filed on Oct. 6, 2020, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to an apparatus for exercising andtraining activities and, more particularly, to an improved weightlifting bar that has improved grip properties, is more durable and iseasier to clean and keep sanitized than traditional weight lifting bars.

BACKGROUND

A weight lifting bar, such as a pull-up bar is one of the most commonand important pieces of equipment in many commercial and home gyms,including for use in functional fitness training, such as Cross-Fitworkouts. As the name implies, a pull-up bar is typically designed forperforming pull-ups or chin-ups, which primarily benefit the backmuscles but also help work out a wide variety of other major musclegroups, including arms, shoulders, chest and core muscles. Aside fromhelping in building size and extra strength in the upper body, it canimprove core strength. In addition to performing pull-ups and chin-ups,a pull-up bar is capable of being used in a number of other exercises tobuild strength and endurance.

Commercial gyms are increasingly popular and include numerous weightlifting bars, such as pull-up bars throughout the fitness/weight liftingarea. Furthermore, individuals seeking to work out from home often wishto buy a pull-up bar to use in their home or garage. Although a pull-upbar is a popular and essential piece of equipment for most commercialand home gyms, they suffer from certain limitations. For example,traditional pull-up bars may have a powder coated painted finish, whichtypically involves coating the bar with paint and then applying heat.Powder coated bars eventually become worn and slippery to use even afterminimal use.

Alternatively, some bars, such as Olympic bars utilize knurling orcross-hatching. The knurling or cross-hatching becomes quite slick whenworn. Furthermore, the knurling or cross-hatching may become slipperywhen wet, such as from perspiration from an individual working out withthe bar. Furthermore, when the gripping surface becomes worn due torepeated use, it will continue to wear down and gets even more slippery,which not only makes it more difficult to perform exercises on the bar,but becomes a safety concern.

To address this issue with traditional pull-up bars as well as otherweight lifting bars, such as dead lift bars, Olympic bars, barbells anddumbbells, athletic tape may be used on the bar. However, taped bars areless aesthetically pleasing to view, raise hygiene concerns (which areparticularly problematic during a pandemic, such as COVID-19) and leavea glue residue on the bar. As a result, traditional weight-lifting barsmust be cleaned frequently and replaced sooner due to the worn grippingsurfaces.

Alternatively, an individual may use gloves or grip pads when using atraditional bar that is worn, but this is an additional piece ofequipment that must be purchased and gloves are frequently misplaced orlost at the gym or home. Moreover, even with gloves or grip pads, anoverly worn bar may still be quite slippery, which makes lifting moredifficult and dangerous.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved weight lifting bar that hasimproved grip properties and does not easily become worn to improvefunctionality and durability of the weight lifting bar.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a weight lifting bar isprovided. The weight lifting bar includes a cylindrical bar and asand-blasted finish applied to the cylindrical bar.

In one embodiment, the sand-blasted finish creates a layer over at leasta portion of the cylindrical bar. The layer may cover substantially anentirety of the cylindrical bar. In another embodiment, the layer coversover half the cylindrical bar.

In another embodiment, the cylindrical bar may be a pull-up bar. Thecylindrical bar may be welded to a pair of opposed end pieces. Each ofthe opposed end pieces may include a flange projecting from eachrespective end piece. Each of the flanges may be welded to thecylindrical bar.

In yet another embodiment, the pull-up bar may be wall mounted or thepull-up bar may be used with a power rack. The cylindrical bar may bemade of bare steel. The sand blasted finish may utilize glass beads.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a pull-up bar isprovided. The pull-up bar includes a first layer and a second layer,wherein the second layer is a sand-blasted finish. In one embodiment,the first layer is a rigid bar. The sand-blasted finish utilizes glassbeads. The sandblasted finish extends around the first layer.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method ofproviding an enhanced gripping finish to a piece of exercise equipmentis provided. The method includes providing the piece of exerciseequipment including a cylindrical bar with an outer surface. The methodfurther includes applying a roughed finish to the outer surface of thecylindrical bar.

In one particular embodiment, the roughed finish is applied viasandblasting. The roughed finish may be applied via bead blasting andinclude glass as the media material.

Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeevident to those or ordinary skill in the art after a study of thedescription, figures and non-limiting examples in this document.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of thespecification, illustrate several aspects of this disclosure, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a weight rack including a pull-upbar forming one aspect of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a wall-mounted pull-up bar formingone aspect of this disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a pull-up bar forming one aspect of thisdisclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pull-up bar forming one aspectof this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings and photographs that form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theembodiments and like numerals represent like details in the variousfigures. Also, it is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that process or other changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the disclosure. The following detailed description isnot to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention isdefined only by the appended claims and their equivalents. In accordancewith the disclosure, a weight lifting and/or functional fitness bar thatutilizes an abrasive (sand) blasting finish is hereinafter described.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-4, which are various views illustratinga weight lifting or functional fitness bar 10 that may be utilized incommercial, cross-fit and home gyms. The weight lifting bar may be avariety of different bars, such as a pull-up bar, dead lift bars,Olympic bar, barbell or dumbbell. The weight lifting bar illustrated inFIGS. 1-3 is a pull-up bar 10 is typically made from a rigid material,such as bare or raw steel to withstand the rigors of repeated use by oneor more individuals. It should be appreciated that the pull-up bardisclosed herein may be used on weight racks, rigs and wall mounts. Asdiscussed in more detail below, an abrasive or sand blasted processfinish is applied to the bar to provide a roughed surface on the rawsteel surface. The roughed surface creates enhanced grip, which does noteasily wear and retains a sticky grip for individuals to use the bar.

The pull-up bar 10 includes a cylindrical bar 20, which may be welded toa pair of opposed end pieces 30, 40. The cylindrical bar is typicallymade of steel. The end pieces 30, 40 include a flange 50, 60 projectingfrom the end piece and welded to the pull-up bar 10 for providingadditional strength and reinforcement. The end pieces 30, 40 may beaffixed to a wall (W), power rack or cage 80. Fasteners, such as boltsmay be used to affix the end pieces 30, 40 to the wall, power rack orcage.

The pull-up bar 10 includes a sandblasted process finish 70 creating asecond layer 100 over the base steel layer 90. The sand blasted finishprovides enhanced grip properties and facilitates pivoting movement ofthe individual's hands during the transitional phase of pull-ups.

Sandblasting is a process of forcing solid particles across a hardsurface at high speeds using compressed air in order to smooth a roughsurface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove surfacecontaminants.

In this case, sandblasting is used on the pull-up bar 10 to create asecond layer 100, i.e., a rough surface to promote better grip for theindividual using the bar. The second layer 100 may cover substantiallyan entirety of the first or base layer 90. Alternatively, the secondlayer 100 may cover over half the first or base layer 90. In yet anotherembodiment, the second layer 100 may cover about half the first or baselayer 90. Importantly, the sand blasting process is a quick andefficient solution to improve the grip properties of the metal bar,without diminishing the appearance of the bar.

It should be appreciated that the sandblasting process may vary based onthe type of medium used and the particulars about the media, i.e., type,shape, size, hardness and density as well as air velocity of theblasting process. For example, it is known to use silica sand or silicondioxide, soda, steel grit, glass bead, plastic beads, garnet, aluminumoxide and others as the media. Other variables in the sandblastingprocess includes the type of nozzle used for the blasting and thepressure applied for the blasting process. The sandblasted processfinish 90 does not easily wear out and retains a sticky/raised grip. Thesand blasting process described herein utilizes glass beads to create asticky mill or frosted finish to the bar. The blast process is known asbead blasting.

Typically, a traditional pull-up bar includes a grip that is merelyclear or powder coated over bare steel, also known as black pipe, whichdoes not have the grip properties of the sandblasted process finishdescribed herein. Instead, conventional power-coated bars becomeslippery after repeated use and must be replaced.

Advantageously, the pull-up bar 10 with the sandblasted process finishmay be used for multiple years without wearing down, i.e., it retains agood grip. Furthermore, the enhanced grip from the sandblasted processfinish does not require the individual to use leather and/or cloth griphand protection appliances on their hands during use of the bar.However, if an individual desires to use gloves, grip pads or chalk toenhance grip, the sandblasted process finish described herein maycomplement the use of the gloves, grip pads or chalk to improve thegrip. The sandblasted process finish decreases the likelihood of anindividual's hands and calluses tearing and/or bleeding, which is commonwith other traditional bars. Finally, it should be appreciated that thesandblasting finish may be used on other pieces of gym equipment, suchas barbells and dumbbells.

The foregoing descriptions of various embodiments have been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed. The embodiments described provide the best illustration ofthe inventive principles and their practical applications to therebyenable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure invarious embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A weight lifting bar, comprising: a cylindrical bar; and asand-blasted finish applied to the cylindrical bar.
 2. The weightlifting bar of claim 1, wherein the sand-blasted finish creates a layerover at least a portion of the cylindrical bar.
 3. The weight liftingbar of claim 1, wherein the layer covers substantially an entirety ofthe cylindrical bar.
 4. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein thelayer covers over half the cylindrical bar.
 5. The weight lifting bar ofclaim 1, wherein the cylindrical bar is a pull-up bar.
 6. The weightlifting bar of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical bar is welded to a pairof opposed end pieces.
 7. The weight lifting bar of claim 6, whereineach of the opposed end pieces include a flange projecting from eachrespective end piece.
 8. The weight lifting bar of claim 7, wherein eachof the flanges is welded to the cylindrical bar.
 9. The weight liftingbar of claim 5, wherein the pull-up bar is wall mounted.
 10. The weightlifting bar of claim 5, wherein the pull-up bar is used with a powerrack.
 11. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical baris made of bare steel.
 12. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, whereinthe sand blasted finish utilizes glass beads.
 13. A pull-up bar,comprising: a first layer; and a second layer, wherein the second layeris a sand-blasted finish.
 14. The pull-up bar of claim 13, wherein thefirst layer is a rigid bar.
 15. The pull-up bar of claim 13, wherein thesand-blasted finish utilizes glass beads.
 16. The pull-up bar of claim13, wherein the sandblasted finish extends around the first layer.
 17. Amethod of providing an enhanced gripping finish to a piece of exerciseequipment, comprising: providing the piece of exercise equipmentincluding a cylindrical bar with an outer surface; and applying aroughed finish to the outer surface of the cylindrical bar.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the roughed finish is applied viasandblasting.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the roughed finish isapplied via bead blasting.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the beadblasting utilizes a glass media.